Apparatus and process for distillation of coal



a Ahn n n n B u 9 l A. S. RAM/ GE- Filed April 9,

APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR DISTILLATION OF COAL y, l v 5 ,4. 1... v1 Y wwmwmwvM .QMQWMWwwmwwww2.Manni,:Wwww :wkinzf: M f/V/d////f/ n www @than umidlPatented Nov. 18, 1924.

- UNITED STATES i ALExANDEE s. EAMAGE, or DE'rEoIr, MICHIGAN.

yArrAiaA'-riis AND rnocass rca DI's'riLLArioir orlcoAL'. 1

Application mea Api-i1 a, 192s. "semi 630,910. c

To all whom it may comem:

Be it known that I, vALEXANDER S. RA- MAGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and 5 State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAp aratus and Processes forv Distillation of o al, of which the following is a specification.

This invention Arelates to a'tyPQ of apparatusand to a process for the low :temperature distillation of bituminous materials such as coal, an object of the invention being the production of vthe'maximum yield of socalled low temperature oil, or low temperature tar oil of a parainoid character.

A further object ofthe invention is the maximum utilization of the sensible heat of the blow gases and water gas, thereby makin it possibleto com lete the distillation without the useof ot er heat. y

A further objectof the invention is a maximum conversion of the nitrogen content of the material to ammonia which vmay be recovered from'the distillation gases in the well known manner.v y

` A further object of the invention *is to provide apparatus rso designed and fconystruted as to etlici'entlv utilize-the sensible heatjof the gases for heatin the material to be distilled and to so app y the'heat as to remove the maximum proportion ofthe v volatilev matterfrom' the material to bedistilled at the lowest possible temperature and discharge the same `immediately into a cooler nmany ofthe known processes for the distillation of coal the object is to produce the maximum quantity of eous product, and to this end the distillation'products are 40 passed through a hotter region than that in which they are'generated for they purpose ofv cracking the fhea hydrocarbonsA and producing gaseous pro ucts therefrom. The

result, in addition' to thegas produced, isk

46 atar very similar to the usual Agas works tar, containing aromatics,A henol, naphthalene andfanthra'cene, while w at I aim to produce isa tar oil consisting of light and hea boiling oleiines, homologues of pheno 50 hydrocarbons of the paraliinoid character and solid paraiiine but practically no phenol, na hthalene or'anthracene. Such'a tar oil is own as lowtemperaturc oil `and the lower the temperature of distillation and the less the vapors are exposed toV highly heated'surfaces the greater is the yiel of the light boiling product.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one form of apparatus embodying my invention and suitable for'vcarryng out the process thereof. A

Referringto the drawings, j Figs. 1 and 2 are vertical' A ctions through the apparatus in planes yaty right angles to each other.` j y n y 05 Fig. 3 is a"horizonta1 'section through the retort above the line 1-1-1, and Y y Fi 4 is a: horizontal section ofthe retort low the line 1``1.

The retort comprisesl the upperl art A above the line 1 '.1, the lower part lgbelow the. line 11, and'thegien'era'tor C. v

The outer walls of the retort are built up in the customary manner of anouter layer 1 and an inner layer 2Sof fire brick, and in intermediate layer 3"of refractory heat r insulatingv material such: as celite The innerV wall 4 of the upper part A of the retort is mader ofcast iron and is spaced from 'the outer wall ai: distance' of about inches andcarries on its outer surface hori zontal ,fins 5 eight inches vwide and spaced about six' inches apart. The outer edgesof the vfins 5 extend into the'layery 2 of the outer wall of the retort forming, channels. YAt one corner of the upper partAof the retort the alternate fnsare rovided with openings 6 and 47, respective y, about four vby five' inches square separated by the vertical iin 8 (see Fig. 3), thus connecting the channels in series'. T-he uppermost channel communicates with the pipe k10 through an openin' 36in the side thereof. The upper part A o the retort referably is about twelve inches thick and our feet wide at the top and sixteen inches thick by fourand one-halffeet widel at the bottom and about ten feet in hei ht. The 'vertical' hollow ,Apartition '9 which is about four inches thickfand stands perpendicular tothe endl walls` of the retort 100 divides the upper4 part A ofthe retort into two equal sections. The partition 9 is closed over the top and bottom, the top closure having a central'peak to prevent `the accumulation of coal thereon, and is provided with a lateral opening 91 near the top communicating with the exit pipe 10 and a lateral opening 11 near the bottom communicating with channels surrounding the lower part of. theretort to be described hereinafter. Within the partition A9 are shelves 12 provided with the staggered openings 13,14.

The inner wall 15 of the lowerL art 'B of the retort is madefof fireclay'or ike refractory material and is spaced about five 10 ,Y

inches from thefoute'r wallof the retort 'and carries on vits outer surface the eightinch tins 16 spaced about six inches'apart, extending into the layer2 of the outer wall of the retort'. The channels formed'by the fins 16 are divided intotwo groups by vertical partitions 17 and 18 at two opposite lcorners of the retort, one group. comprising the channelsacross one end and along one side of theretort and the other group'com.- prising the 'channels across' the other end and along the 4other side of the retort (see Fig. 4). The alternate insofone of ,said groups are providedl withopenings 19 and 19', respectively, and the alternate fins of the other group are providedwith openings '2O and 203*respectively, thus connecting the channels of each groupinrseries. v One of said groups o f channels-communicates with the hollow `partition 9 through the opening 11, while the other group of channels communicates with the channels formed by the ins' surrounding the upper part A ofthe retorty through the opening in the uppermost finV 16. The lower part B of ,the retort'is` about ten feet in height. The ychannel construction .and arrangement described` above is preferred from a structural standpoint, although as ,will be apparent thesame purpose will be Vserved by forming the fins atsuch a pitch or inclination, instead of horizontally, as to give a continuous channel aroundthe retort and such a construction is embraced by my inventi-on., f

The generator() comprises a combustion andy fuel chamber23, a grate 24,'poker vholes 25, aclinkerdoor. 26, an air supply'- pipe 27 anda steamsupply pipe. 28. Thai-nel chamber 23 communicates directlywith the `interior Vof the -retort and with the two groups of channels surrounding the lower :part B of theretortA through the openings 29 and 30.,l l" f .Y The interior oflthe retort at ,the top communicates with the exit-pipe 31.

.On the upper end, of` the` retort yis the feed hopper 32 having the two Achutesv 33 and34 for :supplying the ytwo sections of the upper part it maybe desirable to construct a plurality of retorts inY a bench.

The operation kof the process in the apparatus described is as follows:

Assumingthat thek operation of the retort has been started and that the generav gaseous products.

of theretort. In ypractice tory C contains coke from which practically all volatile matter has been distilled, the

lower art B of the retort contains partially distilled coke and the'upper part A of the retortgvcontains greencoal, Athe mass of `coke in C is first heated to a high temperature by blowing air in through the pipe 27, the resulting blow gases passing through the openings 29 and 30 and upwardly through the' two groups of channels surrounding the lower part B of the retort,

exit pipe. 10'. If theA temperature v4at the exit is greater than 900? F. the vrate at which the eair isfsupplied is reduced or vice versa, but it is desirable vto use labout the same quantity of air during each blow period. vThe air blast. isthen shut olf and steam"superheatedto about 700 F. by the waste blow` gases.. dlsch'arged.from the exit pipe 10, is supplied through the 'pipe 28. The steam blast ordinarily is continued for about eight minutes, the valve 35 during this4 periodl being lin position to close the 1 exit pipek 10 and open the exit pipe 31, thus forcing, the .water gas topass upwardly through the contents of `the retortand inal. ly out through'thepipe 31'. with vthedistillation-,products to suitable means not shown for the. recovery the condensible and the V The cycle of air and steam -blastimrgfis4v repeated continuously a`nd .l coal is supplied as required. z i

The accomplishment'of the objects f l invention by the process an d apparatu sde scribed is dependent upon several features, perhaps the most importantofyvhicb are the followingrv The coal whenit tilling temperature yassumes apasty condi# tion and isa very poor conductor-of heat. In order to heat the coal in thisccondition and distill its volatile-,content 'at theminiproducts it is necessary to heat it uniformly from a source of heat at not too. high a temperature. vThis vcondition is attainedin accordance with my invention byY exposing the vcoal during theinitial stage of its distillalis lfirstv exposed to adisvmum temperature and without local overheating and cracking f, `of the .hydrocarbon from the relatively cool heating gases.l VAt the top of the retort the blow gases are coolest and the body of coal is thinnest, being only about four inches thick and it is heated vfrom both sides so'that the heat is forced to travel through the coal a distance of only about'twov inches. As the coal passes downwardly in the retort and theldistillation proceeds it becomes less pasty and a better conductor of heat, and the thickness of the body of coal therefore is gradually increased to about six inches by the time it reaches the bottom of the up erpart A of the retort. By the time the coa reachesl the lower part B of the retort about 70 percent of .its volatile content is distilled, and it is no longer pasty and is a fairly good conductor of heat. The completion of the distillation therefore is economically carried out in the lower part B of the retort in which a fairly massive body ofthe coal about sixteen inches thick is exposed to the heat transmitted through the wall 15 from the relatively hot blow gases. B the time the coal reaches the generator tillation is substantially complete.

In addition to the advantageous application of the heat to the coal and the distillation of the maximum quantity of its volatile content at the lowest possible temperature as described, I have also provided for the eiiicient utilization of the sensible heat of the blow ases and water gas not only by brin ing t e coal into heat transfer relation t ereto in relatively thin layers but also by the described arrangement of the channels through which the gases are passed. I have found t at in coal distillation a heating gas 'passed through a straight conduit of reasonable len h 1n heat transfer relation to the body o coal at a rate of 200 feet per second wil not eiiiciently transfer its sensible heat to the coal. In my process and apparatus therefore I have provided tortuous passages for the gases and so control their rate of flow that the temperature of the exit gases is not substantially in excess of 900 F.. 'In this way a suiiicient transfer of heat from the ases to the coal is securedv to accomplish t e com lete dis- .t

temperature higher than that at which it is distilled. These features contribute both to the minimizin of the cost of operation and to the production of the maximum yield of the disthe desired lolwvf temperature; `distillation products, that is,A theelowftmi'erature oil and combined nitrogen in the crm of am#t monia.

I claim: Y

l. Apparatus for the distillation of coal,

comprising a vertical retort, gas conduits surrounding said retort, and a hollow partition having transverse "communicating gas conduits in the upper part only of said retort. v 2. Apparatus for the distillation of coal, comprising avertical retort, a hollow partition in the upper part of said Iretort, a group of gas conduits embracing a portion of the outer wall of the lower part of said retort communicating with said hollow partition, gas conduits surrounding the upper part of said retort, and4 a second group of gasconduits embracing another portion of the outer'wall of the lower retort and communicating wlth said gas conduits surrounding the upper part of the retort.

3. Apparatus for the distillation of coal comprising a vertical retort, .a hollow partition in the upper part only of said retort, gas conduits embracing said upper part of the retort, gas conduits embracing the lower part of the retort, said last named conduits communicating with saidi conduits embracing thefupperpart of the retort and with said hollow partition.

4. Process for the distillation of coal which comprises ,establishing a column of material ranging in composition from coke substantially free of volatile matter at one end to green coal at the other end in contact with heat transmitting walls, feeding green coal to said column at said last named end and withdrawing ash from said column at said first named end, Vthe maximum distance of material from said walls -within that zone of the column containing more than 30 per cent of its original volatile .content ranging from about three inches at the point .in said zoneat which the material has the smallest volatile content to about ltwo inches at the point in said4 zone at which the material has the greatest volatile content, and alternately and successively blasting lsaid coke with air and passing the resulting gases in tortuous paths in contact with said walls, and blowing the incandescent coke with steam and assing the resulting hot gases through sald column of material.

5. Process for the distillation of coal comprising establishing a column of material containing from about 30 per cent of its original volatile content at one end to 100 per cent of its volatile content at its other end in contact with heat transmitting walls,

the maximum distance of material 1n said column from said Walls 'being about three inches, and passing h o't gases in tortuous paths in Contact with said walls in the direction of said material containing 100 per cent of its original volatile content, and

regulating the temperature and rate of flow of said gases so that the temperature therelcess of 900 F.

In testimony whereof, I vaffix my signa,-

ture

ALEXANDER S. RAMAGE. 

